Q-School Day 6: Payne and De Zwaan Regain Tour Cards

Josh Payne and Jeffrey De Zwaan regained their PDC Tour Cards on Saturday, after coming through their respective Q School fields in the UK and Europe, on the penultimate day of the Final Stage in Milton Keynes and Kalkar, Germany.

Days One & Two saw Arron Monk and Corey Cadby regain their Tour Cards in the UK & Europe respectively, with Jeffrey Sparidaans winning his for the first time in Europe, whilst Graham Usher achieved the same feat in the UK.

UK Q School

2x PDC senior title winner Josh Payne regained his PDC Tour Card on Day Three of the Final Stage at UK Q School, as he recorded victories over Mark Challenger, Andy Boulton, Ryan Furness, Mark McGeeney, Conan Whitehead and Graham Hall on route to the final, before setting up a clash with Chris Quantock.

The final began with Quantock racing into a 2-0 lead, with winning legs coming in a total of 34 darts, before Payne followed up by winning back-to-back legs to level the match up at 2 a piece. Quantock then won three of his following four legs, which saw him move 5-3 ahead and within one of victory. Payne then produced a remarkable comeback, by winning three straight legs in 19,13 and 15 darts respectively to seal the victory in a last-leg decider to regain his professional status and return to the senior tour after a year absence.

Quantock’s run to the final saw him record victories over Jim McEwan, John Bowles, James Hurrell, Tommy Morris, Lewis Gurney and Dylan Slevin, before being denied by Payne. Despite reaching the final, Quantock sits outside the cut-off place on the Order of Merit on leg difference heading into the final day, with another deep run needed to keep his hopes alive of returning to the senior tour.

European Q School

2018 World Matchplay Semi-Finalist, Jeffrey De Zwaan, who lost his Tour Card at the end of 2022, secured an immediate return to the senior tour, as he reached the final on Day Three by recording victories over Stefan Schroder, Remo Mandiau, Yoshihisa Baba, Pascal Rupprecht, Alex Spellman and Arjan Konterman, to set up a clash with fellow countryman, Maik Kuivenhoven.

The final began with Kuivenhoven taking the opener in 12 darts, before De Zwaan rattled off three on the spin in a total of 45 darts to move 3-1 ahead. The pair then held their own throw for the following four legs, before De Zwaan broke Kuivenhoven’s throw in Leg 9, which saw him seal the victory in 13 darts and a 6-3 win to regain his professional status for at least the next two years.

Kuivenhoven’s run to the final saw him record victories over Sebastian Bialecki, Max Hopp, Vinay Ramnath, Jeroen Caron, Daniel Klose and Ronny Huybrechts, before denied by De Zwaan. However, despite defeat, The Dutchman has regained his PDC Tour Card, regardless whether he doesn’t win outright on the fourth and final day on Sunday, having picked up an impressive 11 points from three days of play.

PDC Q School concludes on Sunday, in the UK and in Europe, with Day Four of the Final Stage with 1 automatic Tour Card up for grabs at each Q School, with the remaining Tour Cards going via two separate Order of Merit’s, as play commences at 12:00 CET in Europe and 12:00 GMT in the UK. All live scores and results can be viewed at tv.dartconnect.com